One of the most intelligent blockbusters i have seen in a while. From both the humans and the apes, we see both the good side and bad side of human nature. It shows peoples capacity to come together,with some scenes that manage to be sweet without feeling cheesy. But it also shows the urge to hold grudges at all costs,as both sides have characters that end up unable to move past there hatred for the other side.

The film also has a nice exploration of family,and in the case of Caesars family how outside conflict can come between. Along with that, it shows the difficulty of leadership when tensions are running high. The film takes a bit to get to its major action scenes, but they are well worth the wait.

On the technical side the animation of the apes is extremely well done,and in this case the effects are in service of the story,not the other way around. And of course Serkis continues his great work from the last one,tho Clarke also does a good job as the human lead for this one.

Manages to have a epic feeling without losing its heart. The film has some great action scenes,with Magneto lifting up a whole stadium being pretty epic to watch. But the quieter scenes manage to be just as effective. Also the music in this found i found really effective.

The dynamic between Xavier and Magneto is center stage once again,and it is wonderful to watch there scenes together. In particular,seeing Xavier grow from a broken man into a leader is interesting to watch. Mystique is also given a more prominent role this time, with the whole film in a way revolving around her ultimate decision.

The returning cast from both First Class and the first slew of X-men films are all top notch. Evan as Quicksilver brought some comedic relief to the proceedings, and Dinklage made for a great villain.

In case y’all have forgotten, Deborah Ann Woll is still my top crush. And i just found a trailer for a new flick with her in it,and luckily it seems like she will have a prominent role :)Its a indie flick that will be shopped around festivals,so no idea of if or when there will be a release date. But im hoping it gets released sooner rather than later :)

Managed to catch this one in theaters yesterday,and i had to write down my thoughts on it

I was not a fan of the first one,but this more than made up for it. It fused elements of thriller with the superheroics, giving it a surprisingly unique feel among the glut of superhero films out there. Its also manages to allude to some slightly mature themes about security and freedom,which meshes with Rogers unwavering idealism quite well. Of course this the main point of this film is to provide well crafted thrill ride,so don’t expect heavy philosophical discussion. But its nice to have that little bit of substance in a movie like this.

Rogers is definitely far more interesting in this one,as he grapples with a world very different from the one he knew. This also makes Evans performance more notable in this one. Black Widow continues to get fleshed out beyond just being a sexy assassin,and the rest of the ensemble all bring something to the story.

So i’ve been away from this blog for a bit,mainly because i’ve been trying to work on other things in my life right now. But i was recently inspired by this meme to try to get back into blogging regularly. Can’t guarantee anything tho :P

There are a few questions i skipped because i didn’t feel i had a good answer for them. I think i did most of them tho. Also, i now have a letterbox account. So if you’re on their a follow would be nice :)

Anticipated Movie of 2014

I think i am going with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The first one was surprisingly good, and im curious to see if they can keep the quality going.

Celebrity i would most like to meet

Deborah Ann Woll

This will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me. I’m a huge fan of hers,and she seems like she would be fun to hangout with. Also hoping when i become a bigtime filmmaker i can finally give her a role worthy of her talents :)

Dream Director-Actor/actress pairing

Since i already used Deborah for one of my answers, im going to pick Union. She is imo a underrated actress who deserves better roles(I’ve been trying to slog through being Mary jane just for her…and yall its been hard). For my director pick i will go with Aronofsky, perhaps in a erotic thriller with Union as the lead.

Essential Classic Film
I think im going to go with Night of the Hunter. A thrilling,dark film that kept me enthralled from start to finish. Also i felt it was a more interesting choice than something like Citizen kane

Favorite film franchise
Lord of the Rings. I feel its one of the few movie trilogys to maintain its quality throughout all 3 films.

Genre(s) i watch the most

This is a hard one to answer for me,as i happen to watch a lot of different genres. But if i had to pick one i think movies relating to sexuality are a fave of mine.

Hidden Gems
Diary of a Nymphomaniac. I think barely anyone has seen this,but i happen to find it amazing. In the beginning it seems like another shallow sex romp of a film,but i feel it becomes something much more meaningful by the end.

Important Moment in my Film Life
When i decided being a filmmaker was what i want to do as a career. I’m still having some trouble getting there,but im determined to make it.

Just right for a rainy day
I’m gonna go with Begginers for this one. For me it manages to be sweet without being sentimental.

Netflix movie i actually watched
I’ve actually watched a bunch of movies through netflix,but for this i will go with Frances Ha,since its is recent-ish. Was a fun little indie that managed to make you root for a character who wasn’t always likable.

Preferred Place To Watch A Movie(Cinema or Home)

Cinema. Home is fine,but if i can see a film in theaters i will.

Quote that Inspires Me

“You have to learn to let go.”

It took me a while to come up with a good answer for his one, as most of the films i love aren’t really “inspiring”(or at least not in the conventional way).

I was finally able to settle on a quote from Gravity. I remember when i saw it i found the movie surprisingly inspiring. When i saw the film i was going through a bit of a tough time,which made me resonate with the film even more.

Remakes (Friend or Foe?)

Generally foe, but every so often a good remake comes along

Snack i enjoy most

When im in theaters i generally enjoy candy with my movie-watching,while i like ice cream as my cinematic treat when watching at home.

Twist(s) That Boggles My Mind

The Usual Suspects and Vertigo.

Unapologetic fanperson for

Im gonna go with Jolie on this one,since i’ve noticed she seems to be a bit…polarizing. Now i respect the opinion of people who aren’t fans of her,but for me she has always been solid in anything i’ve seen her in. I always look forward to seeing her in a film,and she is the main reason Malificant is even on my radar.

Very Excited For Award Show Season?

I pay attention to it,but its not a big deal for me

Wish i never watched?

Don’t really have one.

XXX movie i first watched at a young age?

I have no clue. Growing up with 2 older brothers and a dad who wasn’t really big on censoring what we could watch, i can’t even remember what the first R rated movie i saw was. It was that far back.

On a related note, i have no memory of this but from what my dad has said one time i declared a movie to be “pornoglyphic” and walked away.

Your latest movie-related obsession

The Vampire Academy adaption. The early marketing had killed nearly all my enthusiasm for it,but the recent trailers have restored some of my hope in it. Im still afraid it won’t live up to my expectations,but im pretty much determined to see this in theaters anyways.

Edit-At this point its more of feeling a obligation to see it as a book reader than nay real excitement,as it seems like this ended up being a pretty badly botched adaption

zzz-catchers
I don’t think a movie has ever put me to sleep,but the 2nd half of the Thin Red Line bored the fuck outta me.

A new trailer for the vampire Academy debuted recently,and i have to say its a improvement over the first trailer we got.

The biggest reason im liking this trailer more is that the Lissa/Rose friendship was far more prominent. IMO its one of the most interesting aspects of the books,and helps it differentiate itself from other YA novels out there.

Also this one felt less silly than the first trailer. I mean it still has comedic bits,and the book was like that too but the first one seemed to overdose on that aspect.

There seem to be a few elements of the book absent(and one character looks totally different from what i imagined), but i guess that happens in any adaption. Still,there is something about he visuals in this that just aren’t popping out like i would like.

Twitter was abuzz with news of a Wonderful Life sequel. As expected, many people are shocked,disgusted,and just turned by the news of this. And knowing the plot of this one makes it even worse,as it seems to contradict the whole message of the first(Apparently this one is about how better off the world is without Baileys grandson…really)

Now, with almost all random sequels/remakes/prequels, the prime motivation is money. But even from a moneymaking perspective,this seems like a really terrible idea. I mean, im not sure what the audience for this is.

There are plenty of Wonderfull Life superfans,but i don’t see any of them clamoring for a sequel 60 years later. Especially if its going to end up contradicting the message of the sequel. This isn’t some iconic comic-book people have been wanting to see on screen,and A Wonderfull Life didn’t really lave audiences desperate for a follow-up.

And as for the casual movie-goer…i don’t see this one drawing them either. I doubt many of them know of the original,so brand recognition doesn’t seem like it would be that much of a help here. And even for the ones who do, if they care at all about it they probably don’t want a sequel like the superfans.

The only way i could see this working out is if they manage to get a bunch of big stars for this,and even then its success would be doubtful imo.So yeah,this seems pointless. It seems to me re-releasing the original on blue-ray would be a far more sensible way to milk that extra cash. Im sure there are plenty of fans who would love that.